8 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Make Your Life Greener

All our daily habits are learned and with small, incremental lifestyle changes you can have a big impact on your health and well being, community and the planet. Everyone knows by now to recycle, shop locally when possible, ditch the plastic water bottle for a reusable one and switch to fluorescent lightbulbs. Deepen your commitment to green living by making the following healthier and ethical everyday choices:

Ditch the paper napkins

Minimize or eliminate the use of paper napkins and paper towels by switching to cloth napkins for everyday meals. Try reusable cleaning cloths, old towels and T- hirts for big clean ups and wipe downs.

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Make your own cleaner

Conventional household cleaners contain 80,000 chemicals and toxins that are particularly harmful to people with respiratory issues and asthma. Use non-toxic cleaners or make you own with common household items such as vinegar, essential oils, baking soda and even vodka! Check out our handy apple cider vinegar hacks for making your own eco-friendly cleaning product.

Slow down with the fast fashion

The apparel industry is one of the worst offenders of natural resources waste and unethical business practices. Avoid fast casual shopping and opt for high quality, sustainable clothing and accessories made by eco-friendly apparel brands.

What’s kid-friendly and eco-friendly?

It’s never too early for kids to embrace green living. Buy safer craft materials and toys for your kids! Most crayons are made with petroleum-derived paraffin wax but there are earth friendly ones made from bees wax, soy wax and colored with fruit, vegetable or mineral pigments. Choose toys made of wood and decorated with non-toxic colorants and materials like games, puzzles, blocks.

Photo: Skitterphoto.com

Ditch the poo paper

Green up your personal hygiene by installing an attachment bidet to your toilet to minimize toilet paper usage. And ladies it’s time to permanently switch to chlorine-free, organic cotton tampons with BPA-free applicators and disposable pads or better yet, reusable menstrual cups are available at your local drug store.

Doggie love

Get your doggie some edible chew toys that are far tastier and healthier than plastic and rubber. Secondly, 4 million tons of dog poop goes uncollected annually, making it a top 5 contributor to bacteria in contaminated waters from rainwater run off via sewer systems, nearby beaches and waterways. Always clean up your dog’s waste with biodegradable, plant-derived and recyclable bags instead of adding to the millions of tons plastic bags that go unrecycled every year.

Photo: Celine Sayuri Tagami via Unsplash

Don’t just junk stuff

Got too must stuff? Get rid of what you no longer need or use and instead of making new purchases to embrace green living. Try finding something new (to you!) with resources such as Freecycle, a global network of over 9 million people that reuse and trade stuff in their local communities to keep items from going into landfills or list unwanted items on Facebook Marketplace.